AFG steps closer to automated home loan assessments

With interest rates at record lows, secured lending broker and aggregator AFG has moved to carve out a point of difference from the majors by making it easier for loan applicants to demonstrate serviceability through better document versioning history and accessibility.

The new cloud-based Home Loan application system was custom developed in collaboration with IT services provider, Rubicon Red, combining Oracle Cloud Services with cloud-native open-source developer tooling for enterprise-grade performance and scalability.

The new AFG Assess system, which debuted in July last year, was designed to support the long-running approval process that typically spans weeks or months, with clients providing new information and meeting new milestones as the application progresses.

As a multi-stage process involving mulitple staff members, the system had to be built with a contract-based locking and versioning mechanism between the process automation layer and the Angular-based user interface.

Coupled with a more user-friendly design, AFG Assess improves outcomes by increasing productivity for the operations and credit team who can now scale their operations to meet growing demand without increasing headcount.

It’s also more resilient than the previous processes that were in place, increasing revenue by helping AFG assess more approvals with less downtime and lower time-to-market for any new updates added to the system.

AFG estimates the Assess system has sped up its approval processes by around 25 percent, which has the added benefit of improving customer satisfaction and retention rates.

It’s a huge leap for people navigating their way through the cumbersome and often repetitive, document intensive world of secured lending where small changes in personal data can make a big difference on approvals.

All up, the system is projected to achieve 100 percent return on investment within the first 12 months.

The new technology architecture used in this implementation also sets AFG up to further increase its digital capabilities, providing a platform for future automation and integration opportunities aligned with other strategic initiatives underway within, lowering both the cost and risk associated with new projects.

This project is a finalist in the Finance category of the iTnews Benchmark Awards 2020.